Israeli ex-diplomat Gilad Millo takes up Kenyan citizenship

Diplomat-turned-musician Gilad Millo is over the moon after being granted Kenyan citizenship.

The former deputy head of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Kenya on Tuesday shared a photo on social media holding his certificate of registration as a Kenyan citizen.

The Unajua hitmaker disclosed that he had applied for citizenship six years ago.

“It has been 21 years since I first came to Kenya and six years since I applied for my Kenyan Citizenship. Now it is finally official Najivunia kuwa Mkenya #GodIsGood,” he tweeted.

Mr Millo became a diplomat in 2003 after serving as a journalist for years.

The musician served in Nairobi and Los Angeles before leaving Israel’s foreign ministry in 2008 and relocating to Nairobi.
“I’m an Israeli living in Kenya and I have been here for many years going through some transformation. Musician/businessman if you will, like that pretty much,” he said in an interview with Nation.Africa.

“The connection with Kenya was instant. I’ve never encountered a more open, generous people.”

He said he was in Los Angeles at the end of his service, after serving in Kenya, and he met the MD of Amiran in the California city. He had been his neighbour in Kenya.

“He challenged me to come back to Kenya and join him in his business. After my service in LA, I was appointed the political adviser to the PS. I told them to give me one year’s leave without pay and decided to come to Kenya and I have been here ever since,” he added.

Mr Millo recently bought land and ventured into garlic farming in Isinya, Kajiado County, because Covid-19 restrictions could not allow him to perform in public.

“There was no showbiz going on or gigs, so I decided to join a friend here for farming. People here call me Mzee Supa G. I am loving it. Garlic farming is what I have decided to do for now,” he told the Saturday Nation recently.

Mr Millo's love for agriculture goes beyond the few years he has been practising garlic farming. He has worked in the agriculture sector for many years.

"When I was deputy ambassador of Israel in Kenya years ago, I was involved in the famed Kibwezi irrigation project and gained experience working with drip irrigation through the aid agency Mashav all over East Africa," says the “Unajua” singer.

Later, he worked for Amiran Kenya, where he focused on youth-led agribusinesses, training farmers on how to make profits from their farms.

"Today at Ole Raha, I am much more hands-on, spending time daily learning and experiencing the crop, and of course singing to the garlic as it grows," he quipped.

He was lucky that a few months before Covid-19 hit Kenya in March 2020, he had started the farm with a friend.

"When everything shut down soon after March 2020 because of the pandemic, we dedicated our time to the farm."